Understanding how discrete genes affect neuronal biology, synaptic function
and, ultimately, behavior is a major goal in neuroscience. Not surprisingly, genes
believed to be involved in human psychiatric and developmental brain disorders garner
the most attention due to the likelihood that their disruption will promote salient changes
in neurobiological functions. They also promise to nurture further understanding of
relevant biomedical questions. Using the mouse as a model organism accelerates this
discovery process because the species is amenable to manipulation at the genetic
level, allowing for the orthologous recreation of human mutations. Simultaneously, our
understanding of murine behavioral outputs can now be linked to particular
endophenotypes reminiscent of human disorders.(...)